Railway.



No. 839,633. PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906. F. W. PARSONS.

RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9. 1906.

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No. 889,633. PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906 P. W. PARSONS. RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED J'AN.9.1906.

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UNITED s'rarns PATENT OFFICE.

RAILWAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

Application filed uary 9, 1906. Serial No. 295,224.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANCIS WASHBURN PARSONS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Osterville, county of Barnstable, and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Railways, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates, first, to improvements in railw ays, and, second,to an improved safety construction whereby the rail and truck may becoupled in such wise as to minimize the danger of the truck leaving therails during its progressive movement.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide aneconomically-constructed rallway with a minimum amount of grading andsuitable for use in sparsely-settled neighborhoods as feeders totrunk-lines.

The second object of my invention is to provide the railway and truckspassing over it with a safety device whereby danger of derailment isminimized.

The third object of my invention is to combine a truck carrying safetydevices with a railway comprising laterally-flanged safetyrails andordinary or non-laterally-flanged rails, so that the truck at desiredpoints may have its safety devices out of engagement with the rails.

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the drawings, inwhich Figure 1 is a top plan view of my new railway, showing Iparallellines of rails mounted on tie-plates t at are on the tops of verticalosts and also showing in each line of rails l aterally-flangedsafety-rails and non-later ally-flanged or ordinary rails and alsoshowing braces for the vertical rail-supporting posts. Fig. 2 is in partan enlarged transverse section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1 and in part an endelevation of a truck provided with a safety device adapted to cooperatewith the lateral safety-flanges of the rails. Fig. 3 is an enlargedview, partly in cross-section, at line 3 3 of Fi 1 and shows also in endelevation the true referred to resting on the nonlaterally-flanged orplain rails mentioned. Fig. 4 shows one form of tie-plate in perspectiveand detached. Fig. 5 shows in per spective a bolt-plate employed forfastening the tie-plates, and Fig. 6 shows another form of thetie-plate.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The parallel safety-rails 1 1 have between their tops and their bases 2a lateral lengthwise-extending rib 3. This is a typical form of railheretofore used commonly, so far as I am advised, in railwayconstruction, the prior function of the flange 3 having been to restonfilling or ballast placed under it and eX- tending between the rails.I now use this typical form of rail in the main parts of my new railway,utilizing for the first time the laterally-projecting flange 3 as asafety web or flange for cooperating with a safety device carried by thetruck, as hereinafter set forth. The said form of rail forms asafetyrail in my new construction and is used preferably throughout mynew railway, except at points, such as terminals or switches, where itis desired to have the truck free from coupled relation with the rails.At such points I use the ordinary non-laterally-flanged rail 4. If it isnot desired to have the truck coupled or interlocked with the rails ofthe railway, the ordinary non-laterally-flanged rails 4 may be usedthroughout the entire length of the line without departure from myinvention more broadly considered.

In constructing my improved railway, without reference to the particularcontour of rails used and in such wise as to largely eliminate allgrading, so as to simplify and economize the construction of the railwayand road-bed, I set posts 10 in the ground with their tops at anysuitable distance thereabove and in parallel lines to support theparallel rails. The tops of the posts are of course in a horizontalplane approximately. On the top of each post I fix a tie-plate 1 1,having an upwardly and inwardly inclined side web 12, which ispreferably on the outer side of the tie-plate and overlaps the flange 2of the rail. The plate 11 preferably has parallel downwardly-extendingarms 13, that respectively engage the inner and outer sides of theposts. The horizontal part of the post-plate 11 is preferably providedwith two spike or bolt holes, through one of which a spike 14 is driveninto the top of the post before the rail is put in place. Preferablybefore this spike is driven the transverse bolt-plate 15, having twospike-holes corresponding with the holes in the post-plate, is passedthrough opposite holes or slots 16 in' the downwardly-extending arms 13of the post-plate, the spike-holes in the two plates being caused toregister by the head 17 engaging one of arms 13, thus forming apositioning-stop. When spike 14 is driven through its hole in thepost-plate and into the top of the post, it passes through the opposedspike-hole in the bolt-plate 15, and thereby holds the same firmly inplace. Preferably the transverse bolt 18 is passed through oppositeholes in the arms 13 13 and a hole through the intermediate portion ofthe post, this bolt being held by its head and a nut, as usual. The postof course is transversely bored to form holes to receive the boltplate15 and bolt 18, the holes in the arms 13 through which the bolt 18passes being indicated by 19 and the holes in said arms through whichthe bolt-plate 15 passes being indicated by 16. After the plates 11 areflxed on the proper number of posts any suitable form of rail having aflanged bottom is placed on the upper surfaces of the post or tie-plateswith one bottom flange of the rail under the upwardly and inturnedflange 12 of the post-plate 11. The opposite flange of the rail isformed with a spike-hole, which is coincident with the spike-hole 20 inthe boltplate 15 and with the spike-hole 21 in the horizontal part ofthe post or tie-plate 11. The other spike-hole in the bolt-plate isindicated by 22, and the corresponding hole in post or tie-plate 11,through which the spike 14 passes,is indicated by 23. Aspike 25 is nowpassed through the hole in the base of the rail, through hole 21 in thepost-plate, and driven downwardly into the top portion of the post andthrough the opposed spike-hole 20 in the transverse bolt-plate 15. Thetie-plates 11 are thus strongly fixed in place on the posts. Preferablythe flanges 12 of the tie-plates engage the outer flanges of the rails,so as to re sist any lateral thrust of the trucks running on the rails.Any suitable inclined braces 24 may be used, if necessary or desired,for better holding the top portion of the posts in vertical position,and it is frequently desirable to connect the posts of one line with theposts of the other line by transverse tie-rods 25. If desired, the postsof each line may be connected at or near their upper portions bytie-rods 26, extendin approximately in the direction of the lengt of therails supported on one and the same line of posts 10. A railway thusconstructed is suitable for self-propelled vehicles and for other typesof cars and by reason of its economic construction is particularlyadapted for use as feeders to trunk-lines through sections of countrywhere there is too small a population to support a steam or electricrailway of ordinary construction. The new railway is also well adaptedfor use in lumbering and mining countries, as well as for use in theconstruction of railways for temporary military puroses.

The tops of the posts 10 may be at any desired height above the groundand vary with the contour thereof. The posts should be set firmly in theground, and their embedded portions may be directly in the earth or inconcrete or like bodies 27, suitably placed in the earth around theembedded portions of the posts. Generally speaking, I prefer to have thetops of the posts, and therefore the rails, at a suflicient height abovethe ground to prevent persons and cattle from getting onto the tracks.In very many localities no grading at all will be required, the groundbeing cleared of trees and bushes and the ralls being from, say, threeto four feet above the ground or to a greater height, according to thecontour of the country through which the railway is to be built.

In the form shown in Fig. 6 the post or tieplate is made right angularin cross-section, the plate being generally indicated by 28 and havingthe depending arm 29 and the horizontal portion of said plate having theinturned holding-flange 30 and a short depending flange 31 at the end ofthe horizontal portion opposite the arm 29. The latter arm is providedwith the aperture 32, through which a bolt plate similar to 15 may bepassed or through which a bolt similar to 18 may be passed. In thehorizontal portion spike-holes 33 are provided for receiving spikes,such as 14 and 25, respectively. Obviously this sort of post ortie-plate is specially adapted for light railway construction, butaffords ample strength for heavy construction.

The axle of a truck (indicated by is provided with the usual flangedwheels 41 41 and carries near each of its opposite ends adownwardly-projecting arm 42, having a lateral extension 43, which ispreferably provided with a roller 44, this roller being beneath theunder surface of the laterally-projecting flange 3 of the rail and inapproximate contact therewith. It is apparent by this construction thatany force tending to derail the truck will be resisted by the engagementof a roller 44 or arm 43 with the web 3 of the rail. I deem thisconstruction quite desirable, especially where self-propelled vehiclesof the automobile type are to be run over the railway. At the same timethis safety device may be dispensed with, if desired.

When the railway comprises rails having the lateral safety-flange 3, itis desired that the terminal rails and the rails of switches or the likeshould not have any such lateral or interlocking web, so that the truckmay be out of interlocking engagement with the rails. This form of railis shown at 4, Figs. 1 and 3.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In combination with the supports for traction-rails, a tie-plate carriedby each support comprising a horizontal and a vertical portion, andmeans for securing the tie-plates to the supports including a bolt-platepassed through the vertical portion andthrough the post and a boltpassed through said vertical portion and through the post below saidboltsigned my name to this specification in the plate, the bolt-plateand the horizontal por- I presence of two subscribing Witnesses. tion ofthe tie-plate being provided with corresponding apertures through whichspikes 5 may be driven to hold the plate to the post Witnesses:

and the rail to the said tielate. D. W. ABEROROMBIE, In testimonywhereof have hereunto CHAS. T. GALLAGHER.

FRANCIS WASHBURN PARSONS.

